Escapement mechanism



Jan. 4, 1966 R. K. DAUGHERTY 3,

ESCAPEMENT MECHANISM Filed July 8, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. PALPH K. DAUGHE/PT) -wfda A T TOPNEVS Jan. 4, 1966 R. K. DAUGHERTY3,227,248

ESCAPEMENT MECHANISM Filed July 8, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS Jan.4, 1966 R. K. DAUGHERTY ES GAPEMENT ME CHANI SM 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FiledJuly 8, 1963 FIG- 7 W m5 TH N6 U A m0 K. w M R Maw A T TO/PNE Y23,227,248 ESCAPEMENT MECHANISM Ralph K. Daugherty, San Jose, Calif.,assignor of onehaif to Genevieve I. Magnuson and one-half to GenevieveI. Magnuson, Robert Magnuson, and Lois J. Fox, trustees of the estate ofRoy M. Magnuson Filed July 8, 1963, Ser. No. 293,371

2 Claims. (Cl. 188-85) The present invention relates to the feeding ofarticles by count into containers so that an exact desired number ofarticles will be placed in each of a succession of containers in anautomatic manner.

This invention relates to article feeding apparatus of the type shown inthe patent to Magnuson No. 2,990,665 dated July 4, 1961, and referenceis made to said patent for such parts of the apparatus as are notdisclosed in detail.

It is a general object of the invention to provide for the feeding of anexact number of articles by count into a container where the articlesare separated from a single 1e and diverted to different containerreceiving stations to be placed in succession, into a container, thediversion from one container to another being performed by a mechanicalgate which is extremely fast and reliable in operation. a

A further object of the invention is to provide improved means andmethods for forming a single file feed of articles for subsequentplacement into containers.

A further object of the invention is to provide article feedingapparatus of the above character in which the mechanical gate fordiverting articles selectively from one station to another is operatedat the same speed in traveling from either one of its positions todirect articles to one or the other of two desired locations.

Still another object of the invention is to provide apparatus of theabove character which is relatively simple in construction and which isreliable in operation.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description of a preferred embodiment thereof, as illustratedin the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the apparatus embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of a portion of theapparatus shown in FIG. 1; i b

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view partially in elevation taken of oneof thedischarge stations, and indicated by the plane of the line 44 inFIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view partially in elevation taken asindicated by the plane of the line 55 in FIG. 1; 7

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view showing the diverting gate and theoperating solenoids therefor being taken in a Plane of the line 6-6 inFIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken as indicated by the line 77 in FIG. 3;b

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken as indicated by the line 8-3in FIG. 4;

FIG. 9is an enlarged sectional view taken as indicated by the line 9-9in FIG. 6.

Referring first to FIG. 1, there is shown a plan view of the apparatusincluding a shufiie feed 10 for articles, the discharge end of theshufile feed placing the articles in a V-shaped belt conveyor 11 whichcarries the articles in a direction indicated by the arrow and placesthem on a second V-shaped belt conveyor 12, which operates at a fasterspeed and from which the articles are discharged as will later bedescribed.

United States Patent 0 ICC Upon leaving the V-shaped conveyor belt 12(FIG. 1), the articles are discharged past a counting station comprisinga light source 13 and a photoelectric cell 14 which are connected by thecable 16 to a counting circuit 17 which may be of the type disclosed inthe patent to Cowan No. 2,870,585 dated January 27, 1959. The countingcircuit control mechanism 17 serves to operate solenoid controlescapement mechanisms 18, each of which controls movement of an opencontainer carried by one of the conveyors 19 or 21. Conveyors 19 and 21are of the platform type and operate continuously to carry thecontainers away when released. The desired count is placed in each canby a control of a diverter gate mechanism 22 of a type referred to morespecifically hereinafter.

It is a result of the above operation that the articles are placed insingle file in approximately separated relation by the conveyor meansincluding the shuttle feed 10 and the sets of conveyor belts 11 and 12and are counted as they are discharged from the end of the conveyor 12.A desired number of articles are placed successively in each of the twocontainers on the respective belts 19 and 21, and when a count iscompleted, the conveyor belt with the filled can operates to remove thiscontainer upon operation of the escapement mechanism, and the gatemechanism 22 sets the gate to divert subsequent articles to the oppositecontainer associated with the other conveyors 19 or 21.

A shufiie feed conveyor 10 is of the type disclosed in the patent toMagnuson et al No. 2,792,929, dated May 21, 1957, and this shufiie feedconveyor 10 operates to separate articles from a bulk supply intosuccessive transverse files and to feed each file transversely fordischarge over the end of the conveyor at 31 where each file is receivedbetween two opposite belts 32 which are trained about respective drivingrolls 33 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 7) and idler rolls 34. Idler rolls 34 arejournaled on a suitable V-shaped bracket 36, which is carried by asleeve 37 slidable on a frame shaft 38, and the idler rolls 34 are urgedto the left as viewed in FIG. 2 by a spring 39 disposed between thesleeve 37 and a stationary bracket 41 which serves to support a sheetmetal guide 42 for the belts 32. The frame member or shaft 38 is carriedby suitable brackets such as the brackets 43 (FIGS. 1 and 2) on theframe of the machine,. Referring to FIG. 7, the two driving rolls 33 arerecessed to receive a bevel gear 44, the two bevel gears 44 meshing. Thesupporting shaft 45 for the left-hand roller or drum, as seen in FIG. 7,is stationary and carried by a support 46 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 7) on theshaft 38 and an L-shaped extension 46a of the support 46. The driveshaft 47 for the right-hand roll 33 is journaled in the member 46 and ina second extension 46a, and carries a pulley 48 through which a drive istransmitted by the belt 49 from a motor 51.

As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the drive belt 49 is also trained about adriving pulley 52 for the second pair of drive rolls 53 similar inmounting and construction to the rolls 33, but associated withrespective belt 54 of the second conveyor 12. The driving pulley 52 issmaller in diameter than the pulley 48 to provide a faster speed of theconveyor 12, is disposed at a lower level than the conveyor 11 so thatthe articles are in effect thrown between the two belts and areaccelerated by the conveyor 12.

As seen in FIG. 5, the V-shaped sheet metal guide 42 for the belts 54,which is identical with a similar guide Referring to FIG. 6, thedischarge ends of the belts 54 of the conveyor 12 are adjacent aninclined chute 61 of sheet metal which opens V-shaped at the top andconverges to a central two-part discharge opening controlled by a gate62. Gate 62 is carried by shaft 63 secured to the lower edge of the gateand pivoted at one end in a bushing 64 in an insert or guide 65 of thechute structure 61. The other end of the shaft 63 extends through asupport bracket 66 and is supported by a coupling 67 by which it isconnected with an output shaft 68 of a rotary solenoid 69 which may beof the type disclosed in the patent to Smith et al. No. 2,950,424, datedAugust 23, 1960. This solenoid 69 is secured to an internal flange 71 ofa housing 72 which has annular ribs for dissipation of heat. The shaft68 of the solenoid 69 extends through the solenoid and is connected by acoupling 73 with the output shaft 74 of a second solenoid 76 similar inall respects to the solenoid 69 but placed in opposed end-toend relationtherewith. The second solenoid 76 is secured to a transverse wall 77 ofa housing or casting 78.

Rotary solenoids of the type disclosed in the Smith et al patent, asshown at 69 and 76, operate upon receiving an electrical impulse to movetheir armature in a rotary fashion through a limited arc of movement ina given direction, and the two solenoids 69 and 76 are opposed, i.e.,they have their magnetic force oriented to operate on the respectiveshafts 68 and 74 in opposite directions. When one of the solenoids isenergized, i.e., the solenoid 69, the gate 62 will be swung to one sideof the chute 61 to divert the falling articles into a container at oneof the container-holding stations on the respective conveyors 19 and 21.When the other solenoid 76, for example, is energized, the gate 62 willbe swung to the opposite side of the chute 61 so as to direct articlesto the opposite positioned container on one of the conveyors 19 or 21.It should be understood that the armature of the solenoids and theshafts 68 and 79 are connected and move together so that the gate 62 isdriven in both directions and a fast operation results.

The time at which the gate 62 is operated back and forth is controlledby the circuit 17 so that when a desired count of articles, say 4, isplaced into one of the containers, the gate is then swung so as todirect the next four articles into the opposite container, etc.

The control circuit 17 also serves to operate the escapement mechanismfor the respective containers, and for this purpose is connected bysuitable wiring to a rotary solenoid 81 (FIGS. 1 and 4), which isvertically disposed and is carried by support casting 82. The casting 82is supported by a bracket 83 carried by a frame piece 84, and journaledin the bracket 83 is a vertical shaft 86 which carries at its bottomrespective aligned pairs of escapement sprockets 87 having a desirednumber of can-restraining and advancing recesses therein.

The solenoid 81 controls operation of the shaft 86 and the star wheels87 by the containers and their supporting conveyor through anintervening escapement mechanism. For this purpose, the upper end of theshaft 85 (FIG. 8) has a ratchet wheel 91 secured thereon whichcooperates with respective opposite restraining pawls 92 and 93, thesepawls being urged toward each other and the ratchet wheel 91 by asuitable spring 94. Also positioned between the pawls 92 and 93 is acontrol cam 96, which is carried by the operating shaft 85 of thesolenoid 81, this cam being urged in a clockwise direction by spiraltype spring 97 (FIG. 4).

The net result of the operation of the cam 96 through a fixed angle bythe solenoid 81 is first to release the pawl 92 from the engagedposition with ratchet wheel 91 as shown in FIG. 8, so the ratchet wheel91 will advance counter-clockwise through one step until it isrestrained by the latch 93. When the cam 96 is returned to the positionshown by the spring 97, it again enables the pawl 92 to move intolatching position, and disengagcs the pawl 93 from the ratchet wheel 91so that the ratchet wheel 91 will move through another shorter step ofadvance. For each activation of the solenoid 81, the ratchet wheel 91will advance two steps of movement totaling one-sixth of a revolution,and will allow the star wheel 87 to turn through one-sixth of arevolution under the drive of the containers on the conveyor 19 torelease a container and to allow a subsequent container to move intoposition to receive articles such as meat balls. The escapementmechanism 18 associated with the conveyor 21 is similar to thatdescribed except that the pawls and the ratchet wheel are reversed fromthose shown in FIG. 8. It will be understood that the escapementmechanisms 18 and their controlling solenoids S1 operate alternately incontrolling the release of containers.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of theinvention, it will be seen that it is capable of variation andmodification from the form shown so that its scope should be limitedonly by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. An escapement mechanism comprising an oscillatory operating shaft andan intermittently operated driven shaft, a ratchet wheel attached tosaid driven shaft, oppose latching pawls engaging said ratchet onopposite sides and being out of phase whereby when one latching pawl isengaged with the tooth of said ratchet, the opposite latching pawl willhave its latch tooth displaced from the tooth of the ratchet wheel,spring means urging said pawl-s toward said ratchet wheel, and anoperating cam disposed between said latching pawls and adapted tooscillate first in one direction and then the other to first move thefirst or engaged latching pawl to a wheel releasing position and allowthe second or disengaged latching pawl to engage the wheel upon movementthereof and then to engage and move the second latching pawl to a wheelreleasing position and allow the first latching pawl to re-engage.

2. An escapement mechanism comprising an oscillatory operating shaft andan intermittently operated driven shaft, a ratchet wheel attached tosaid driven shaft, opposed latching pawls engaging said ratchet onopposite sides and being out of phase whereby when one latching pawl isengaged with the tooth of said ratchet, the opposite latching pawl willhave its latch tooth displaced from the tooth of the ratchet wheel,spring means urging said pawls toward said ratchet wheel, and operatingmeans engage- I able with said latching pawls and operable to first movethe first or engaged latching pawl to a wheel releasing position andallow the second or disengaged latching pawl to engage the wheel onmovement thereof and then to engage and move the second latching pawl toa wheel releasing position and allow the first latching pawl toreengage.

References Cited by the Examiner SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner.

HYMAN LORD, Examiner.

1. AN ESCAPEMENT MECHANISM COMPRISING AN OSCILLATORY OPERATING SHAFT ANDAN INTERMITTENTLY OPERATED DRIVEN SHAFT, A RATCHET WHEEL ATTACHED TOSAID DRIVEN SHAFT, OPPOSED LATCHING PAWLS ENGAGING SAID RATCHET ONOPPOSITE SIDES AND BEING OUT OF PHASE WHEREBY WHEN ONE LATCHING PAWL ISENGAGED WITH THE TOOTH OF SAID RATCHET, THE OPPOSITE LATCHING PAWL WILLHAVE ITS LATCH TOOTH DISPLACED FROM THE TOOTH OF THE RATCHET WHEEL,SPRING MEANS URGING SAID PAWLS TOWARD SAID RATCHET WHEEL, AND ANOPERATING CAM DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID LATCHING PAWLS AND ADAPTED TOOSCILLATE FIRST IN ONE DIRECTION AND THEN THE OTHER TO FIRST MOVE THEFIRST OR ENGAGED LATCHING PAWL TO A WHEEL RELEASING POSITION AND ALLOWTHE SECOND OR DISENGAGED LATCHING PAWL TO ENGAGE THE WHEEL UPON MOVEMENTTHEREOF AND THEN TO ENGAGE AND MOVE THE SECOND LATCHING PAWL TO A WHEELRELEASING POSITION AND ALLOW THE FIRST LATCHING PAWL TO RE-ENGAGE.